Spanish mayor charged for setting town ablaze (VIDEO)

A Spanish mayor has been charged for setting a town on fire after ignoring a fireworks ban. The illegal pyrotechnics resulted in a massive hillside blaze, which forced some residents of the town to evacuate from their homes.

Despite a ban, which had been implemented because of an extremely
high risk of forest fires, Mayor Ernesto Sanjuan gave the go
ahead for a fireworks display on April 26 in the town of Cullera
in southeastern Spain. Sanjuan was charged along with the
display’s organizer, Andreu Piqueras, who are both members of
Spain’s ruling People’s Party.

The fireworks display was held at Cullera castle and was branded
as “reckless” and “gravely irresponsible” by
rival politicians.
“We cannot allow people’s lives to be put at risk because of the
caprices of one person,” said Jordi Mayor, the head of a
local socialist group, to Huffington Post Spanish.

The fireworks started several small fires on the hill around the
castle which quickly spread, setting the whole hill ablaze and
forcing several people in the San Antonio neighborhood to abandon
their homes.

“Sanjuán has endangered the lives of many people, causing an
ecological disaster from which it will take decades to
recover,” said Juan Ponce, spokesperson for local green and
left-wing party the Compromise Coalition.

The mayor is due in court on July 14 and could potentially face
charges of negligent arson. He says that the fire came as a
“surprise” because there was “hardly any
vegetation” on the hill surrounding the castle.

After the fire broke out, eight fire crews from the nearby towns
of Gandia, Silla, Catarroja, Alzira, Burjassot, Torrent and
Sagunt were dispatched to battle the blaze. It took them an
entire night to extinguish all the fires on the hill surrounding
the castle.

Emergency services had previously sent a message to the
festival’s organizers warning them not to set off fireworks due
to the level 3 pre-emergency fire risk status that day.